Orange OBC 115 ... OR ... Bag End S15B-D?

citynorth · #1 03-29-2011, 12:21 AM

Hey guys so i currently have a Svt 7 pro with a Mesa powerhouse 410. I am looking into adding a 1x15 to my rig and was wondering which cab you would recommend over the other?

Also both of these are 400 watts @ 8 ohms. My 410 is 600 @ 8 ohms. The svt 7 pro is 1000 watts @ 4 ohms, 600 @ 8. Will it be safe hooking up another cab that is only 400 watts? Or would it be better to get a 1x15 that is 600?

Thanks for the advice.

JGR · #2 03-29-2011, 02:40 PM

I'll vote for Bag End, but I would get the S15L-D which is in between the -D and the B, which is huge.

Mojo-Man · #3 03-29-2011, 02:49 PM

I love the tone of the OBC 115.

Also the Schroeder 15L is a nice 1x15 cab.

mpdd · #4 03-29-2011, 02:54 PM

my obc115 is going to arrive tonight

4Mal · #5 03-29-2011, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by citynorth

Hey guys so i currently have a Svt 7 pro with a Mesa powerhouse 410. I am looking into adding a 1x15 to my rig and was wondering which cab you would recommend over the other?

Also both of these are 400 watts @ 8 ohms. My 410 is 600 @ 8 ohms. The svt 7 pro is 1000 watts @ 4 ohms, 600 @ 8. Will it be safe hooking up another cab that is only 400 watts? Or would it be better to get a 1x15 that is 600?

Thanks for the advice.

Why ?

That is to ask, what do you want to achieve by adding the 15 cab to your 4x10 ?

About the only use I've ever had for that setup (1x15 & 4x10) was that the 15 cab got the 4x10 up higher, closer to my ears so I heard it better ...

If you want deeper, smoother, dump the 4x10 and get something in the 15.6 category. If you want louder, get another 4x10... or the 15.6 with an additional 15.sub.

The watts ratings as you are thinking of them are not significant in and of themselves... You need to balance acoustic output between the cabs at a given power level - which is nigh on to impossible with that setup.

Though I am a past owner of 4x10 cab's - I am not a fan. Audio abnormalities abound in that design. Particularly the square ones.

ishouldbeking · #6 03-29-2011, 03:14 PM

yeah, not to derail the thread completely, but if you poke around the site you'll find lots of great reasons not to pair a 1x15 with a 4x10.

that said, the Orange OBC115 is a sweet little cab. for what I assume you're looking to do, a stacked pair of Orange 15's would make a killer rig.

steamthief · #7 03-29-2011, 03:15 PM

I've never heard the Bag End, but have read a lot of good things about it. I own the OBC115 and love it - thinking of getting rid of my OBC410 to get another.

christw · #8 03-29-2011, 04:46 PM

I have a Bag End 210 + 410 rig and love it. However, if you want more of what you have (more highs, lows, and mids with the same tone) then buy another 410 identical to yours. If you're looking to change your sound, I'd advise going shopping for a difference cab because adding a 15" is not the right way to do that.

AwkwardLoudness · #9 03-29-2011, 05:14 PM

Ditch the 4x10 and get two Bag End S15B-D cabs

or

Ditch the 4x10 and get two OBC115 cabs but swap the stock Kappa 15A speaker in each cab with a Kappalite 3015 and add foam insulation to the inside for damping. I thank TB member, hdracer, for that advice. I did this swap in an OBC115 with great results.

or

add another Mesa Powerhouse 4x10

It's best to use two of the same cab.

Quote:

Originally Posted by citynorth

Will it be safe hooking up another cab that is only 400 watts?

Yes. Just turn down the volume if the speakers starts to fart out. The speakers will reach their excursion limits before exceeding their thermal rating.

JGR · #10 03-29-2011, 07:55 PM

I've been GASing for a pair of OBC115's for a long time, but all the recent talk of swapping speakers and adding insulation kind of turned me off. For the price, they should have done it right the first time. Bag End did.

greenboy · #11 03-29-2011, 07:58 PM

What's so much righter about the Bag End? I'm asking seriously and not rhetorically.

JGR · #12 03-30-2011, 06:17 AM

Sure. In comparison the the Orange, I was referring to the fact that they have internal dampening and their OEM speaker is kickass. Construction is top notch. I find them somewhat unique in their response - they don't have the hole in the mids that a lot of 15's do, in fact they have the great midrange of a 12, and they have great top end extension without tweeters. Crazy high sensitivity - they are lound! Some folks want more low end, but I find it just right - it is tight and punchy like a sealed cab.

greenboy · #13 03-30-2011, 08:48 AM

Thanks, JGR,

I agree that suitable damping should be provided in any cab. But the driver retrofitting thing is a little different. As long as the driver works well in a given box size and tuning, then it becomes more of a subjective issue of choosing drivers for a particular set of priorities than an absolute (I know this sounds a little "well, DUH", but hear me out).

The size of box found in the TL-606-based clone boxes like Mesa's and Orange's suit a fair number of drivers past and present fairly well. Some of those drivers are questionable choices given what people pay for the cabs. Orange apparently changes it up at whim according to data I've collected here on TB, and only one of those drivers found in "stock" OBC115 is what I'd want in there. For people who want what it provides it's a great driver. Different than the BagEnd sound but great.

But the Kappalite 3015 fits that box size and tuning very nicely, and some people love it's combination of tight yet deep low end reach and provocative midrange, and it's probably 8-10 pounds lighter than the best Orange-provided choice. It's also handles a lot more power before fart-out. So retrofitting into that box is actually because it's got real choices rather than because a stock box can't cut the mustard (if you buy it when Orange is using the best of their driver choices rather than the others they have apparently used at times).

But again, there is a crapshoot element here, and damping SHOULD be provided.

* * *
On another note, you should swing by into the current fEARful megathread and share a little about your preamp design. A lot of us are power amp users or contemplate it, and some deets, specs and impressions would set some heads a-twirl : }

bongomania · #14 03-30-2011, 09:01 AM

I haven't tried the Orange, but I do have a pair of the Bag End S15B-D's. The good: they sound fantastic, and don't need any EQ correction. The bad: they are super bulky and hard to wrangle. There are other cabs of similar (or greater) weight or cubic feet that are easier to pick up or haul due to having a more manageable shape.

I agree with others that you'll need to consider why you want (or think you want) a 1x15 to go with your 4x10. Most of the time you will get better results stacking two identical cabs.

greenboy · #15 03-30-2011, 09:08 AM

Yeah, I responded to what BagEnds I thought JGR was referencing when in fact there are others that sound different, have different box size and tuning, probably a different driver.

hdracer · #16 03-30-2011, 09:20 AM

As a owner of a OCB-115 I say get the Bag End.
Unless you can find one used at a good price, the Orange is a over priced slug. Not a bad cab but at $659 it is not worth it. To get this cab to it's full potential you need to pull the speaker out and fully insulate the cab (nothing in it) and drop a Kappalite 3015 in it. Then it comes to life, but it is still larger and about the same weight as the Bag End.

I wish I had gone with the Bag End to begin with. They sound great out of the box and last forever.

greenboy · #17 03-30-2011, 09:25 AM

hdracer, just for clarification, did you buy new or used? What driver was in there? It's the deets that make this stuff real.

4Mal · #18 03-30-2011, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenboy

What's so much righter about the Bag End? I'm asking seriously and not rhetorically.

Tuning is what BE got right. As a familial thing, Bag End seems to tune for a real smooth roll off in the low mids. Not much going on down deep. They seem to take 'add back' EQ well up to a point. It gives them a sense of clarity and punch that few other bare 15's (at least the ones I've heard) can manage. It seem as though other vendors tune for a bump in the low mids and that mucks about with all the other close by freqs ...

Their constrution is generally bullet proof as well and they have the weight to prove it

Long as we're talking old school. The other industrial weight bare 15 to consider would be the old Peavey Black Widow based 1x15 cab. The BW is a way better driver than it get's the cred for, at least IMO.

hdracer · #19 03-30-2011, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenboy

hdracer, just for clarification, did you buy new or used? What driver was in there? It's the deets that make this stuff real.

I picked mine up used for $350. It came with a Kappa-15A but I know of some that came with Bata-15's. I will say it again, It is not a bad cab, it just is not worth $659

The 3015 dropped a lot of weight and sounds a lot better when pushed hard. I just finished a TL-606 with a 3015 and like it better than the Orange. I had a chance to A-B it with a fEarful 15-6 last Sunday. That thing was sweet! It will be my next project. That is the BEST 15 cab ever!

greenboy · #20 03-30-2011, 09:42 AM

Thanks, man.

I actually like the OBC115 with Kappa 15A sound (that's the best stock load fersure) but I also like the 3015 OBC sound. Just different flavs to me. Definitely the 3015 enjoys the tremendous edge in real-world power handling - and weight shaving.

4mal, I take it you are talking about the SMALL not deep BagEnds.